The Finnx Archipelago
by Targetedandfiring
Summary: After hearing about an exclusive League for top trainers, Ash goes into seclusion, training hard for two years to prove his worth. With old friends returning to support him, rivals from the past returning to stop him, and strong Pokemon on his side, does Ash have what it takes to finally become a Champion? (Read the story and find out the shipping yourselves)
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone. I've decided to write this story. It's based on Princess Selina's "The Eclipse Islands". I was very disastified with how the story turned out previously, which is why I've decided to re-write it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.**

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 **Prologue:** Before the Two Years

A sweet, summer breeze rolled over the green hills of the Kantonian countryside and gently swaying the laundry being hung up to dry by a happy Mr. Mime and an older woman who was in her 40s, although her hair was still as brown as tree bark, and her brown eyes had a soft, but motherly look to them as she went about doing the simple chores.

As she finished hanging up the last of the clothes, she turned to look up at one of the windows It was slightly ajar and a yellow rodent seemed was snoozing on the windowsill, enjoying the warm wind against his fur.

"Oh, Pikachu!" Delia Ketchum called out. Pikachu's ears twitched as he groggily stood up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so, and looked out the window curiously.

"Chaa?" he asked, yawning as he did so.

"Sorry to wake you up dear, but can you let Ash know breakfast will be ready any minute?" Delia asked. Pikachu gave a happy nod, suddenly very awake now that breakfast was almost ready. He hopped down from the windowsill and to the bed the bed of the fairly messing room.

"PiPika!" Pikachu cried, impatiently jumping up and down on the bed as he tried to wake his snoring trainer.

"Five more minutes," Ash groaned quietly, as he gently pushed Pikachu away. Pikachu's eyes narrowed as his cheeks started to spark angrily before he let out a Thunderbolt on Ash.

"Okay! Okay! I'm awake!" Ash cried, very awake now that he'd been hit by a Thunderbolt. Pikachu grinned happily, before pointing to the door and hurrying downstairs, not wanting to miss his morning meal. Ash quickly got showered and dressed for the day before following Pikachu down the stairs, all the while in deep thought over what he was going to do for the day.

He had plans to visit Professor Oak to see how his Pokémon were doing. He'd only been in Pallet Town for a day since returning from the Alola Region. Professor Kukui had worked together with the trial captains to set up a Pokémon League challenge and, unfortunately, Ash had come close but failed in beating it, defeated in the Finals by Lillie's brother Gladion.

Ash wasn't bitter about his loss, but it did leave him wondering just what else there was for him to do now that he'd completely challenged every region out there. *It seems like it's something I'll just have to ask Professor Oak when I see him then,* Ash thought with a frown, which quickly turned to a happy grin as he caught the heavenly aroma of his mother's cooking.

Ash rushed into the kitchen, mouth salivating at the breakfast pizza his mother had baked. The bountiful aroma of the baked egg, cooked sausage, bubbling mozzarella, and fresh spinach hit his nose and he practically floated to the table, where Mimey already had a dish ready for Ash to enjoy.

"Thanks, Mimey!" Ash said happily as he dug in, practically crying tears of joy with how good the breakfast pizza was. It wasn't long before the amazing breakfast was gone.

"Thanks, Mom! That was great!" Ash said happily, turning to see if Pikachu had finished eating up his Pokémon food. The yellow rodent's plate was completely clean and Pikachu couldn't help but let out a happy burp of content.

"Manners you two," Delia said, giggling at how alike Pikachu and Ash were. Mimey happily took the dishes to get washed, shooing Ash away when he tried to help.

"So Ash, what are your plans for today?" Delia asked sweetly.

"I think Pikachu and I are going to go see the Professor," Ash said eagerly," with everything I learned at the Pokémon Trainer School in Alola, I feel confident in trying to find my next challenge."

"That's a good idea sweetie, I'm sure if anyone knows where you can find a good challenge, Professor Oak can," Delia replied, "and I bet it'll be exciting to see how your Alolan Pokémon are getting along with the rest of your Pokémon too."

"That's right!" Ash said. scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin. He stood up from his seat, ready to get moving.

"Alright Pikachu let's go," Ash said. Pikachu didn't waste any time in hopping to Ash's shoulder, letting out a happy cry of excitement.

"You two have fun. Let me know how Samuel is doing!" Delia said, waving happily from the front door as Ash and Pikachu rushed out eager to get to the Professor's lab.

Despite Professor Oak living just down the road from Ash's house, the walk still took about twenty minutes. In recent years, a lot of the land around Professor Oak's lab now belong to Professor, who purchased the land to expand out the Pokémon Ranch he had developed. The ranch's large size was necessary for handling all the Pokémon Professor Oak had to care for.

Ash stared at the countryside that was now a Pokémon paradise. He spotted a few native Pokémon, like Bellsprout and Oddish, and, at one point, caught sight of a Rapidash streaking happily across open fields. A few of Ash's own Pokémon he could make out as well.

He spotted Snorlax happily snoozing beneath a large oak tree, and Dartrix hanging out happily right above Snorlax, snoozing just as similarly. Swellow was racing across the skies with Talonflame and Staraptor not too far behind. Ash even managed to spot his Tauros herd, happily grazing on some fresh grasses.

It wasn't long before Ash arrived at the actual Lab building itself. He went up and just let himself in. Ash was allowed in the Oak residence, being a good friend of Professor Oak.

"Hello! Professor Oak? Tracey? It's me, Ash!" Ash called out as he entered the building, looking around for anyone. It seemed the main residence was empty, which meant that the Professor and his research assistant were probably out on the ranch. Ash made his way through the residence and outside and was surprised by who he found.

Gary Oak, Ash's old rival, was knelt in front of Professor Oak's Dragonite. He seemed busy pulling out something from the Pokemon's foot, and the Dragonite looked quite uncomfortable.

"It's okay Dragonite, just one more pull and…" Gary said, his voice sounding labored as he pulled with all his might, before triumphantly holding up a rather large thorn from some tweezers he had held, "there! Now let me just apply some disinfectant so the wound doesn't get infected and you can go back to playing on the ranch."

Dragonite looked visibly relieved and gave a happy cry, sitting patiently as Gary applied the disinfectant.

"Now make sure not to put too much pressure on that leg. Go and spread your wings for today instead," Gary suggested. Dragonite happily gave a nod and took off without delay, causing Gary to step back and avoid the gust of wind Dragonite caused.

Ash slowly began clapping, which finally caught Gary's attention.

"Pokémon Researcher and Pokemon Doctor, eh?" Ash said with a grin.

"Nope, just a Researcher in training. It's important to know how to do basic first aid though," Gary replied, with a similar grin, as he walked up to Ash, giving him a tight hug before stepping away.

"It's been a while Ashy-boy," Gary teased, "congratulations on making it to the Finals of the Alolan league. That's quite an accomplishment."

"Yep, I know what you mean," Ash said with a smile, "next time I'll be sure to win!" Ash had a confident look in his eye as he spoke before his smile faltered slightly.

"And that's why I was hoping you or Professor Oak could help me," Ash said, "I haven't got a clue on where to go next."

"Hmm, well Ash, from what I can think of, you've already journeyed through ever region already haven't you?" Gary asked, "I can't think of anywhere else you might want to go to, but I'm sure Gramps can help you out. Why not wait for him to get here? He went to the general store to run a quick errand so he will be back any minute."

"And Tracey?" Ash asked, finding it a bit unusual to not find Professor Oak's assistant at the lab.

"Oh, Tracey's doing Fieldwork for Gramps. He's currently in Vermillion studying the effects of some Frillish that have been released into the ocean by trainers who didn't want them anymore. Thankfully, Frillish occupies the same ecological niche as Tentacool so all it's resulted in is competition between the two species," Gary explained to a very confused Ash, before being interrupted by the sound of a sliding door opening.

Professor Oak stepped outside, putting on his usual lab coat as he did so.

"Oh Gary, no need to confuse the poor boy. Ash, it's so great to see you. How have you been?" Professor Oak asked with a jolly smile on his face.

"Oh, hello Professor! I was actually hoping you had any recommendations on where I could go for my next challenge!" Ash asked excitedly.

"Oh my, only a day since returning from Alola and already you want to go and experience a new adventure," Professor Oak said with a laugh, before frowning and shaking my head, "you've traveled through all the regions at this point Ash, I'm sorry to say."

"So you're saying.." Ash asked with a slight pause in his voice.

"If you want to go on an adventure, it will have to be through a region you'd already revisited," Gary replied, shuffling his feet awkwardly as if not fully being transparent with Ash," it wouldn't be too bad of a thing Ash. When you traveled through all the regions before, you mostly only went for the most popular gyms or the gyms that were the closest. Each region has about thirty League sanctioned gyms, except for Alola. If you went through each region and didn't face the same gyms you did on your first time around, I'm sure you'd still have a blast. It'd be like an entirely new adventure."

"You could also talk to Scott about becoming a Frontier Brain Ash. Remember he did give you the opportunity before," Professor Oak reminded the young trainer.

Ash deliberated on the options the two Oaks had provided him with. There was truth behind their words. The thought of becoming a Frontier Brain was already too much for Ash. He was young, he wanted to finish his travels before he talked to Scott about becoming a Frontier Brain.

"Sorry Professor Oak, but I don't think I want to become a Frontier Brain just yet," Ash admitted.

"So which region will you be going through again then Ash?" Professor Oak asked. Ash hesitated in answering before shaking his head.

"I know Gary said I could go through a new region again but...that just isn't something I want to do. I want to do something new where I can still test myself in battles and going around to regions I've already visited facing different gyms...that's not it either. There has to be somewhere new for me to visit," Ash stated, beginning to feel slightly nervous at the possibility of not going on an adventure.

Gary, feeling sympathetic to his old rival's situation, decided to speak up.

"You know Gramps, we could tell him about…" Gary began. Professor Oak's eyes went wide with realization at just what his grandson meant.

"Out of the question Gary, you know we aren't allowed or supposed to talk about that place," Professor Oak said sternly.

"About what place?" Ash chimed in, confused but also hopeful that there just might be another league he could challenge. Professor Oak sighed in defeat, with Gary having given even the slightest of hits, there was no point in trying to hide anything now.

"Ash, come inside, we need to talk," Professor Oak said, sighing as he led Ash and Gary into his study, closing the door behind them.

"Ash, what I am about to tell you is confidential. You mustn't tell anyone, not even your mother unless having been given my permission," said Professor Oak, directing Ash to a map of the regions that he had up on his wall. The map was larger and very detailed, However, instead of pointing to any of the regions on the map, Professor Oak pointed to a small set of unnamed islands, about one-thousand miles south of the Hoen region.

"This small set of islands, are the Finnx Archipelago, and it's home to the strongest league in the world," Professor Oak said as he stared at Ash," and honestly, I don't think you're up to the challenge yet Ash."

"W-wait what?" Ash asked, shocked that the Professor didn't believe in Ash.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Ash. You're strong for sure, but the gym leaders of this region are way stronger," Gary told Ash," and there's a lot more of them too. The Finnx Archipelago is made up of eighteen islands, each island has a type specialist, with the five strongest of those type specialist acting as the Elite Four and Champion per se."

"B-But their gym leaders they can't be that strong," Ash tried to reason.

"Ash, each one of these gym leaders has enough power to be an Elite Four member easily if they wanted, and some of the older gym leaders were once Champions, in fact, each member of the top five was a previous champion of a region before they formed the Finnx League," Professor Oak said.

"Also Ash, when you would challenge gyms in the past, most gym leaders hadn't even heard about you. In the Finnx Archipelago, it's different. All the gym leaders are... let's just say they're very close. If they feel like you're going to beat them, they'll try to find out your strategies and then share it with the other leaders. If they get really desperate, they've been known to go back and check old recordings of your battles from earlier leagues, anything that could give them the edge. I'm telling you, Ash, if you really want to face this league, then you need to train, and train hard," Gary said.

Ash looked stunned at the information the two researchers were giving him. Was there really a league that had trainers as strong as they claimed. He frowned.

"Why were you trying to hide this from me. Did you think I couldn't train up my Pokémon for a year or two before going?" Ash asked, an evident frown on his face. Pikachu's cheeks sparked slightly as well, angry that neither Professor Oak nor Gary seemed to trust in his trainer's strength.

"No Ash, that wasn't it. You see, the knowledge of the Finnx Archipelago...well it's kind of secret. The only people who know about it are Pokémon Professors, Researchers, and the Elite Four of each region," Gary explained," the islands are a nature reserve. It's a goldmine for researchers like Gramps and I. They're also largely unspoiled by human hands. Each island has the necessities for battles and a Pokémon Center with an active Nurse Joy, but that's about it. The Pokémon League made the islands a reserve to protect the unique ecosystem from being destroyed by oil companies and ask that they are kept a secret so tourism doesn't pollute the islands. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, these islands don't exist and it needs to stay that way."

Ash stopped frowning, immediately understanding why the knowledge of the islands had been kept secret. However, he had to wonder

"Professor, what exactly is the reward for beating everyone in the Finnx Archipelago?" Ash had to ask, "if there are eighteen gym leaders who all can rival members of the Elite Four, then what is the prize for beating them?"

"Ashy-boy, you might not believe this, but if you can beat the entire league, then you can challenge the Elite Four and Champion of any region you want, with having to compete in the Pokémon League Tournament of that region nor in the Champion's Tournament. And if you can beat the Champion of the league you've selected, you become the new Champion for that league," Gary said. Ash's eyes went wide at the news. He took a deep breath to try to take in what he'd just heard before looking at Professor Oak.

"Professor Oak, how many people have actually beaten the Finnx League?" Ash asked. Professor Oak sighed, knowing Ash wasn't going to like the answer to his question very much.

"You see Ash, to actually be allowed to take part in the Finnx League, you first must receive a Recommendation from a person of authority, which would mean you'd have to have an Elite Four member, Champion, or a regional Professor give you the recommendation. I'd provide you with one, but as I stated before, I don't believe you're quite ready to try to take the league on," Professor Oak said, "as for the exact numbers, in the 20 years the league has been open, a little over a thousand trainers have shown the skills needed to take part in the league. Out of those thousand, only fifty-four trainers have managed to make it the top five, and out of those fifty-four trainers, only five have ever won the league. Cynthia Shirona, the current Sinnoh Champion, is the only one to successfully defeat the Elite Four and Champion of the region she challenged afterward."

Ash turned to look at Pikachu at Professor Oak's words. An unsaid message was said between Pikachu and Ash and they both nodded, with determined looks on their faces.

"Professor, give me two years. If in two years you don't think I'm ready, then I'll retire from going on adventures and become a Frontier Brain," Ash spoke confidently. Professor Oak was surprised to hear the conviction in Ash's voice but nodded.

"Two years."

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 **Well, I hope you enjoyed this Prologue. If it isn't already evident, there is going to be a time skip, as I'm going for a strong Ash this time around. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Please Review so I know what to improve on! I'll be writing this story on /targetedandfiring , so please go and give my Twitch channel some love. There'll be awesome jams and sometimes I stream video games like Dark Souls and Overwatch**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone. Welcome back for another chapter of this story. I'm actually just astonished at the amount of support, and views this story has attracted so far. Anyways I'm going to address a comment from a reviewer before we get to the story.**

 **To Pokemon Fan -** I actually already have all the ships planned out. I want to keep most of them a secret for later on, but I will confirm PokeShipping in this story. May and other female companions (they'll be referenced but I don't want to include all of them because that'd be way too many) will all have their own shippings. Some will be with some of my OCs which is why I'll keep those a secret for now. Anyways, I hope you enjoy story.

 **With that taken care of, let's get back to the story!**

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 **Chapter 1:** A Rumble of a Welcome Back

Two years.

It had been two years since Ash had left home. Two years since Ash had set his goal of being deemed worthy enough to challenge the Finnx Archipelago.

Now he was back in Pallet Town. He'd returned at the beginning of summer, around the same time he had left two years earlier. Pallet Town looked just the same as when he had left it. It seemed the perks of being a rural town meant development was slow, but that was fine to Ash. To him, the quiet, small, country town would always be his home, and he didn't want skyscrapers and other large buildings to ruin the town.

From his vantage point on the hill, Ash could see his house and the Professor's Lab in the distance so he slowly made his way down the road that lead into town.

"It's strange being back in town, huh Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking to his partner, who was happily sitting on his shoulder.

"Pi," Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement. Ash and Pikachu, along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon, had spent the last two years training in the harshest of places. They'd spent time high up in the peak of Mt. Silver, they'd swam through the dangerous waters of the Whirl Islands, they'd endured the heat of Hoen's desert, the dangers of the Cinnabar Volcano, and even the numbing cold of the slopes on Mt. Coronet.

In comparison, Pallet Town's calm atmosphere seemed like a daydream to them both after the harsh conditions they'd endured the last two years.

As the pair continued down the road, they began to pass some of the townsfolk, who were out and about, enjoying the clear summer day. At first, they went unnoticed. However, it didn't take long for them to figure out who they were.

"Hey isn't that Ash and Pikachu?"

"What? No way, it can't be!"

"Wait it is!"

"Alright! Welcome back you two! The pride and joy of the town are back everyone!"

Ash waved at his neighbors, the Pallet Town natives that he had grown up with. He had grown accustomed to the attention. Being a strong trainer who had consistently placed high in Pokémon League matches, the people of Pallet Town considered Ash their hero.

However, as much as he would like to talk to people he considered family, Ash wanted to see his mother first. It'd been two years since he'd last spoken to her in person after all. After excusing himself, he walked even faster, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

Delia was watering her garden when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned, wondering who was off to see the Professor, whose Lab was just down the road from the Ketchum house. She was pleasantly surprised to find her son approaching.

Delia blinked a few times, double checking and making sure that this was, in fact, her son. While it was obvious that this was Ash, Pikachu gave that away far too easily, Ash had gone from boy to man. He'd grown a foot since Delia had last seen him. It was obvious that all the training he'd gone had gotten him in shape as well, resulting in having just the right amount of muscle as was suitable. There was the faintest of hints of facial hair as well, and Delia had to guess that he had shaved recently. He even had a more serious look in his eyes, although Delia could plainly see that the kindness and friendliness of the Ash she knew was still there.

She couldn't help but greet Ash with a great hug.

"Oh Ash, how you've grown! It's so great to see you in Pikachu again. Will you be staying in Pallet Town long?" Delia asked, treasuring the moments when her son would visit, but knowing the path he walked was one away from home.

"Just for today, I think. I wanted to stop by and say hello to Professor Oak. I'm ready to show him the results of my training," Ash said with a grin. Pikachu gave an eager nod, backing up his trainer's words. Delia couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, then head on over, I'll have dinner ready by the time you get back. Tell Samuel he and Tracey can come too!" Delia replied, giving Ash a quick peck on the cheek," now go and show them what an amazing trainer you've become."

With those words of encouragement, Ash happily nodded and soon, was following the road to Professor Oak's lab. It didn't take long for him to arrive, and he strode through the doors of the laboratory like usual.

"Professor Oak? Tracey?" Ash called as he entered the lab.

"Ash is that you?" a voice replied from the other room, the shuffling of footsteps and Tracey was soon greeting Ash by the door.

"Hey there Tracey! Long time no sees," Ash replied a grin on his face. Tracey looked a bit surprised seeing Ash, especially with how much the young trainer had changed.

"Oh, Ash! You've returned from your training then?" Tracey asked, signaling for Ash to follow him to the large ranch outside.

"Yep, I'm ready to show the Professor just how much I've grown," Ash said as he stepped outside.

"That's good to hear Ash, I'm sure the Professor will want to see how much you've improved," Tracey replied," I'm surprised how strong the Pokémon you've sent back have been. It's really impressive."

"Thank you, Tracey, I've been training everyone super hard to prove how strong we've become to Professor Oak," Ash replied.

"And I can tell you've definitely become strong Ash," Professor Oak spoke, catching Ash by surprise. Professor Oak stood watching Ash and Tracey, it appeared he was walking back to the lab when they stepped outside.

"That's right Professor! I'm here to challenge you and prove how strong I am!" Ash replied confidently.

"Very well then, how about this. A six on six battle. If you win, I'll allow you to challenge the Finnx Archipelago, and, if you lose…" Professor Oak warned.

"I'll become a Frontier Brain," Ash replied.

"Very well, in that case, Tracey, would you mind overseeing the battle?" Professor Oak asked.

"Of course Professor," Tracey replied," how about we move the battle farther from the house so none of the Pokemon's attacks damage it?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ash replied, as he began walking towards a cleared out patch of grass that looked ideal for the battle. Professor Oak took his place just opposite to Ash, while Tracey stood in the middle to referee the battle.

"This will be a six on six Pokémon battle. Only the challenger, Ash, may make substitutions!" Tracey called out, "Begin!"

"Go Rotom!" Professor Oak cried, throwing out a Pokeball as he spoke and releasing a Rotom-Wash.

"Come on out, Sceptile!" Ash said at the same time, his Sceptile emerging from his Pokeball, a twig at the ready in its mouth.

"Let's start things out with a Quick Attack!" Ash called out, Sceptile rushed forward quickly, slamming hard into Rotom-Wash. The Rotom let out a cry of pain, surprised by how quickly the Sceptile had moved and just how much damage the attack had done.

"Alright Rotom, quick use Volt Switch!" Professor Oak called out, seeing the disadvantage Rotom had against Sceptile. With how close Sceptile had gotten with a Quick Attack, it tried backpedaling to avoid the attack but Rotom managed to give Sceptile a shock, which, while Sceptile resisted, was enough to get Rotom back in it's Pokeball.

"While I can't substitute Pokémon, Volt Switch forces me to. An easy way to get around the rules," Professor Oak declared, noticing Ash's surprised look.

"Now come on out, Charizard!"

A powerful roar was let out as Professor Oak let out his Charizard. One of the three Pokémon he'd started his Pokémon journey with.

"Charizard, show Sceptile your strength. Use Flamethrower!" Professor Oak called out.

"Avoid the attack with Quick Attack, and then get in close with Thunder Punch!" Sceptile easily dodged the searing flames Charizard had produced. He jumped to get in the air, leaping above Charizard, then turned, using its downward momentum to hit Charizard with a crackling electric fist.

Charizard let out a cry in pain from taking the super-effective attack, the force of which launched him into the ground.

"Now, Sceptile, use Rock Tomb!" Ash called, seeing the predicament that Professor Oak's Charizard was in.

"What? Oh no! Charizard quick get up!" Professor Oak called, but it was far too late. Jagged stone pillars erupted from the ground all around Charizard, and collapsed down on the great fire lizard. When the smoke cleared, it was clear to see Charizard was unconscious.

"Charizard is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner!" Tracey called out, surprised by how easily Sceptile had dispatched one of Professor Oak's strongest Pokémon.

Even Professor Oak seemed taken aback. It took him a second to process how easily Sceptile had dispatched of Charizard. Every attack was deliberate and focused, how incredible! Professor Oak thought as he returned Charizard to its Pokeball, before throwing out another.

"Come on out then Venusaur!"

Professor Oak's Venusaur let out a bellow of challenge towards Sceptile, who scoffed, looking ready to go back into battle. However, Ash shook his head.

"Sceptile, that's enough for now. Good job," Ash praised the grass type, who relaxed and nodded as it returned to its Pokeball.

"I choose you! Heracross!"

"Hera!" Heracross cried out as its wings unfurled and it flew into the battle.

"Don't worry Venusaur, we've got this! Use Sludge Bomb!" Professor Oak called. Venusaur let out a roar as toxic sludge erupted from its mouth.

"Dodge with Aerial Horn!" Ash called. Tracey and Professor Oak looked stunned for a second as Heracross's wings unfurled, and it swooped into the air, managing to avoid the Sludge Bomb before turning quickly and dive down into Venusaur with a viciously quick speed, horn glowing green with energy.

Venusaur let out a cry in pain as it took the combination attack of Aerial Ace and Megahorn, meanwhile Heracrossretreated, panting as it tried to catch its breath.

"Quick Venusaur! Use Toxic and then Frenzy Plant!" Professor Oak called out. Venusaur, despite having taken the powerful combination attack, was still ready to battle and spat out purple blobs at Heracross, who was too busy trying to catch its breath to dodge the incoming Toxic before letting out a roar as giant, spiked vines emerged from the ground, barreling towards Heracross.

"Wait for it Heracross!" Ash called as the vines grew even closer and closer to Heracross. Heracross, putting complete trust in his trainer, waited until just the right moment before Ash called out.

"Now! Close Combat!" Ash called, spotting the opening Heracross would need. It seemed Heracross had spotted it too as it flew, flying with its body angled to slip between the incoming vines and head towards the now unprotected Venusaur. Horn first, Heracross flipped Venusaur into the air easily, then proceeded in delivering swift, yet hard-hitting, punches and kicks. By the time Venusaur had landed back on the ground, it was unable to battle any further.

"Venusaur is unable to battle. Heracross is the winner!" Tracey called, impressed on how patiently Ash had waited for an opportunity to slip through the Frenzy Plant, although he had to ask.

"Professor, isn't Venusaur a poison type? Why did it take so much damage from Close Combat?" Tracey asked while the Professor returned his Venusaur.

"Well, you see Tracey, that was Heracross's ability, Guts. It raises Heracross's power when affected by a special condition. In my excitement from the great battle we were having, I forgot that Ash's Heracross had the Guts ability. That's why Ash let Heracross take the Toxic attack I used on it, isn't that right Ash?" Professor Oak asked.

"That's true Professor. Although Heracross was poisoned, all his attacks will now be super powerful. You'd better have a Pokémon strong enough to handle that," Ash said with a grin.

"Then I believe this Pokémon will be able to handle it. Come on Blastoise!" Professor Oak called, releasing the water type from its Pokeball.

"Blastoise!" Blastoise roared, angrily looking at Heracross. Immediately Ash noticed a small band around Blastoise's arm and blinked with realization.

"I had hoped to use Blastoise against your Charizard but it's clear I've been holding back if you've been able to defeat two of my Pokémon so easily," Professor Oak said, holding up a bracelet that held a Key Stone.

"Alright Blastoise, It's time to Mega Evolve!" Professor Oak called out. Blastoise immediately was surrounded by a glowing energy as it began to change form, a huge cannon now resting on its back as it stared down Heracross, a confident look on its face.

"Quick Heracross, get in and use Megahorn!" Ash called, as Heracross rushed forward, hoping to land an attack before Blastoise could launch one of its own.

"Sorry Ash, but Heracross won't be able to handle this. Blastoise use Water Pulse!" Professor Oak called out. Blastoisetook aim as Heracross got close then fired a huge sphere of water that exploded upon contact against Heracross. The attack was so forceful that it sent Heracross launching backward, several feet beyond Ash, and left a crater the size of Heracross in the field. The poison damage, along with the defense drop from Close Combat, left Ash knowing already what had transpired.

"Heracross is unable to battle! Blastoise is the winner!" Tracey called out as Ash returned Heracross.

"So Ash, what will you do now?" Professor Oak asked as Ash returned Heracross.

"I think that's easy to answer Professor. It's time to fight power with power. Let's go Charizard!" Ash called out. Charizard landed on the battlefield and gave Blastoise an angry snort, a serious look in his eye.

"And this should even the odds against a water type. Charizard Mega Evolve!" Ash called out, pulling out a necklace with a keystone on it. Energy swirled around Charizard, reacting with a barely visible Charizardite Y held around the base of Charizard's tail, easily hidden from sight.

Charizard's body grew, becoming leaner in shape, a large spike horn grew out from his head, while his wings changed to become more aerodynamic. Two wing flaps formed around Charizard's arms, making it easier for the fire type to move around the air more easily.

Charizard gave one look at Blastoise before letting out a fearsome roar so loud that it could probably be heard all the way to the Ketchum residence. Immediately it became almost unbearably hot, the afternoon sun beating down on the three trainers vigorously.

"That's the Drought ability!" Professor Oak cried out, surprised by how much power Ash's already strong Charizard had gained and already sweating from the intense heat.

"Blastoise don't let that power fool you. We've still got the upper hand with our water typing!" Professor Oak called, "use Water Pulse."

"Charizard into the sky, and use Fire Blast!" Ash called. Blastoise launched another blast of water at Charizard, but it was noticeably smaller than before and shrinking fast as it moved to where Charizard was standing. Upon hearing Ash's command, however, Charizard easily dodged the attack, maneuvering into the sky before blasting down a five-pronged blast of fire towards Blastoise. The flames were an almost dazzling mixture of white, intense flames that, despite the resistance, caused Blastoise to flinch, stepping back a few spaces.

"Water Pulse to cleanse yourself of the flames and then Dragon Pulse at Charizard!" Professor Oak called out. Blastoiselaunched a Water Pulse straight up into the air and let it fall right back down on it, looking relieved now that it wasn't covered in flames, but it turned it's three launchers to Charizard next. Three blasts of draconic energy swirled out towards Charizard, looking incredibly powerful.

"Charizard, use Fire Blast to stop the attack!" Ash called. Charizard roared, letting out another blast of searing hot flames that collided with the Dragon Pulse, resulting in an explosion of smoke to block out both Charizard and Blastoise. During the explosion, Professor Oak called out an attack that Ash hadn't heard.

Ash gasped as a Water Pulse slammed into Charizard, sending him flying out of the smoke. While the sun had weakened the attack, it was still a water type move and it had the added boost of the Mega Launcher ability. Ash knew Charizard had taken serious damage, however, Charizard hardly seemed to care as it roared angrily, waiting for Ash's next call.

"One more time Blastoise! Another Water Pulse!" Professor Oak called as a second Water Pulse was fired at Charizard.

"Charizard, show them your power. Rapid fire Solarbeam!" Ash called.

"Oh no!" Professor Oak cried out with sudden realization. With the power of the sun, Charizard could fire off as many Solarbeams as he wanted, and that was exactly what he did.

Charizard roared as it let loose a powerful Solarbeam attack, it passed right through the Water Pulse, evaporating it almost instantly before hitting Blastoise. Blastoise cried out in pain, but didn't get a chance to recover as another Solarbeam and then another, crashed into it.

The onslaught of Solarbeams was too much for the water type, as Mega Evolution energy dissipated from its body, reverting Mega-Blastoise back to Blastoise before it collapsed onto the field.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! Charizard is the winner!" Tracey called out, a stunned look on his face as Professor Oak returned Blastoise.

"That's impressive Ash. The power of your Charizard seems to be leagues above any of my Pokémon," the Professor admitted, "however, that doesn't mean I'll be giving up anytime soon. You're up Dragonite!"

"Thanks, Professor. Charizard, you've done well, but I think we need to show off some of our Pokémon. Take a rest," Ash said, returning Charizard back into his Pokeball, which surprised the Professor.

"Interesting, I was sure you'd continue using Charizard. Just what do you have planned Ash," Professor Oak asked, curious about what Ash's next Pokémon would be.

"A one-hit KO on Dragonite!" Ash said as he pulled out a Pokeball and released a purple Pokémon out for battle. It was large, and it let out a loud roar, almost as loud as Charizard's. A large fin was on its back, and a yellow star adorned his head. It took a menacing step towards Dragonite, causing the ground to rumble slightly.

"Say hello to Garchomp," Ash said with a grin," and our powerful special move. Garchomp unleash all your strength." A glinting purple stone flashed in light on Ash's wrist, and it only took Professor Oak a second to realize what was happening, just as Ash struck a pose.

"Z-Draco Meteor! Devastating Drake!"

Garchomp roared as he began to glow with deep purple energy before he fired a large orb of the energy into the sky. The energy took the form of a flying dragon, flying upwards before it turned, splitting off into smaller, but just as deadly looking, purple dragons.

"Dragonite try to dodge them with Extremespeed!" Professor Oak cried out, as Dragonite dashed across the field, trying desperately to dodge the onslaught of draconic energy. It missed the first dragon-shaped meteor, then the second, but upon trying to dodge the third, its wing grazed the falling dragon meteor. It overcorrected, not seeing that it had veered straight into the path of another. The force of the impact knocked the breath out of Dragonite and slammed him into the ground, where he could only lie and take the onslaught of draconic meteors. When the attack subsided, Dragonite had gone unconscious.

Tracey's mouth stood open in surprise. Dragonite had been one of Professor Oak's strongest Pokémon and Ash had torn right through it. He blinked a couple of times before saying anything.

"Dragonite is unable to battle. Garchomp is the winner!"

Shakily, Professor Oak returned his Dragonite. He wasn't surprised by how much stronger Ash had gotten, whenever Ash caught a Pokémon it was added to his Trainer Profile which he got to see first. Ash had made some very impressive new additions to his party in the last two years, to the point where Professor Oak had to double-check with Ash to confirm the catch. Still, seeing the power of Ash and his Pokémon, the Professor understood now how much work Ash had put into his two-year training trip.

"Tauros you're up!" Professor Oak called, throwing a Pokeball yo the field. Ash had already swept through most of his really strong Pokémon, so Professor Oak knew that his Tauros would be no match. Tauros angrily stopped its hooves into the ground as it stared Garchomp down.

"Double-Edge / Dragon Rush!" Both Professor Oak and Ash called out. Tauros charged at Garchomp, glowing with white energy, while Garchomp covered himself in draconic energy and rushed forward to meet Tauros. Both attacks hit, and, for only the briefest of seconds, the two Pokemon's attacks seemed to counterbalance.

However, Garchomp quickly proved the stronger Pokémon, dipping his head beneath Tauros's and flipping the bull Pokémon. Tauros lay immobile after the powerful attack and due to the recoil of its own.

"Tauros is unable to battle! Garchomp is the winner!"

"Looks like it's just Rotom left then," Professor Oak said as he returned his Tauros, before throwing the Pokeball with Rotom in it," Rotom you're the only one left. Fight hard for the team!"

Rotom buzzed excitedly, as it stared down Garchomp, a goofy but confident grin on its face.

"Use Will-O-Wisp!" Professor Oak called out. With a grin, Rotom let out ghostly blast flames at Garchomp, hoping to weaken the Dragon Type.

"Take out those flames with Sandstorm!" Ash called. Garchomp whipped together a concentrated stream of dust and sand that easily absorbed and dissipated the flames.

"Quick, use Hydro Pump Rotom!" Professor Oak called out, realizing that Garchomp was open to attack. Rotom shot out a thick stream of water at Garchomp from his washing machine, but Garchomp hardly seemed fazed.

"It's time to finish this battle Garchomp! Finish the battle with Poison Rush!" Ash called. Garchomp roared as the tips of his claws glowed purple, before he launched himself at Rotom. Rotom tried to float away, but the speed of Dragon Rush, combined with the deadly force of the Poison jab was too much and the electric type fainted.

"Rotom is unable to battle! Garchomp is the winner! The victor is Ash!" Tracey called, holding his hand up high in Ash's direction.

"All right! Great work Garchomp!" Ash said, running up to hug the Dragon type, who wasted almost no opportunity to chomp down on Ash's head with a pleased grin on his face.

"Garr!" Garchomp said happily.

"Haha, I love you too, Garchomp just...please let go…" Ash said as he flailed wildly around. Eventually, Garchomp let out, and Ash hurriedly returned the dragon type to his Pokeball, letting out a sigh of relief, while Tracey, Professor Oak, and Pikachu laughed at how Ash's Pokemon had shown its affection.

"I'm surprised you've survived these last two years Ash. With as many times as I've seen Charizard use Flamethrower on you, and now apparently Garchomp gives your head a Crunch too!" Tracey said with a laugh.

"I must say, Ash, that was an amazing battle we had," Professor Oak said.

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to have a Mega-Blastoise!' Ash replied, "I don't think Heracross would have gotten take out so easily if I had taken that into consideration."

"All your Pokémon battled hard Ash. And I think you're more than deserving of my recommendation for the FinnxArchipelago. I'll get all the paperwork taken care of, so it will be a few weeks before you're officially ready to go," Professor Oak said," before we go inside and get out Pokémon healed up, is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Actually yes, I want permission to let Mom and a few other people know about the Finnx Archipelago. I've been thinking a lot recently, and, if I'm going on a journey, then I want to go with the people who helped me get this far in the journey of becoming a trainer. I've actually talked to a few of them, not about the Finnx League, just that I was preparing to go on another adventure and that it would be my last one. Here's the list of every I want to come along," Ash said, pulling out a piece of paper from a pocket in his jeans and handing it to the Professor.

The Professor looked over the list of people on the piece of paper.

"Everyone on this list is a well-respected person Ash, when I send your recommendation I'll let the people in charge of the Finnx League know about your friends," Professor Oak said, as he put the piece of paper into Ash's pocket.

The trio walked into the Pokémon lab, Professor Oak and Tracey specifically asking how Ash had trained his Pokémon while they waited for the healing machine to heal up everyone who had battled.

It wasn't until the afternoon sun turned a different shade, silhouetted behind the distant mountains, making for a glorious orange sunset, and, the rumble of Ash's stomach, that Ash realized he needed to hurry home.

Ash was almost out of the lab when he remembered.

"Oh, Professor Oak! Tracey! I almost forgot, Mom said to invite you two over for dinner," Ash said.

"Delia's cooking? Come on Tracey, we mustn't be late!" Professor Oak said as he tore out of the lab, eager for the delicious cooking of Ash's mother.

Ash and Tracey could only laugh, shaking their heads as they followed the Professor back to the Ketchum residence.

* * *

 **So, did you all enjoy this chapter? I'll do my best to have the next chapter up and running by sometime next week so keep a close look out for that.**

 **Also, please be sure to Review, Follow, and Favorite. Not only does this help me gauge interest, it also encourages me to work harder. Reviews, even bad ones, will hopefully help build a strong community for this story, myself, and the readers.**

 **Anyways, I hope your all having a rockin' 2019. See you next week!**


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